The Fine Line between Imagination and Reality
by Ununoctium
Summary: While sleeping underneath the night sky, Sonic is awoken by a ominous nightmare.
1. Chapter 1

Sonic the Hedgehog

The Fine Line between Imagination and Reality

Chapter One – "Sleeping in Cold Blood"

The fluorescent moon light shone onto his face. It released a sort of peaceful feeling to those who are touched by its wide arms. He stared into the stars, searching for his long missing planet he originally came from. This was not his world… but he was content enough, to an extent. The light turned his blue skin and green eyes reflective silver. His quills rested neatly in the grass he laid. He looked to the sky for only moments later, till he closed his eyes for some much needed sleep.

He was not asleep for long, when he heard a noise rustling in the tall grass behind him. His ears twitched to the sharp sounds. He arose quickly, glaring into the direction of the sound. His eyes moved slowly across the field. A parting in the grass became apparent, and it was coming fast. He didn't have enough time to react; the dark figure was already behind him. A shining blade raised above him, the moon light reflecting off it. Blood flew to the sky, turning silver in the light. With a quick slash, it was over. His head decapitated…

He arose frantically. His breath hard and sharp and a beating sweat formed on his brow. His pupils were dilated, his muscles were tense. He couldn't believe what he had just been through. "What the hell was that?" he asked himself. He had never had a dream as the likes of this one. He began to relax, resting his body against the ground. He laughed to himself, shaking of the worries in his mind. He began to close his eyes once more saying, "It was only a dream," before he slipped back into sleep.

transitus

He blinked his eyes open, the bright morning light shone down on him. Its warmth flowed through his body, making him feel happy and energetic about what a beautiful day it seemed to be. He smiled at the cloud filled sky, listening to the birds singing to one another. He sat up, seeing a bright blue flower growing next to him. He leaned over, sniffing in the sweet scent. He jumped onto his feet, dashing forwards at top speeds, feeling euphoric. As he disappeared with a cloud of dirt following him, the blue flower he had noticed only seconds before, began to bleed a bright red liquid before it shriveled up and died.

The wind rushing past his face felt cool and refreshing in the glistening, warm sun light. He closed his eyes and smiled brightly, saying out loud, "Nothing's going to get me down today!" As he ran through the dense forest, his surrounding was meshed together into a green pallet. In only seconds, he reached the nearby city. He placed his hand on his stomach, finding himself feeling quite hungry. He immediately planned a course to his favorite hotdog stand. Rushing by all the cars on the street, and the people on the side walk, he was just a wind passing by to them. He skid his heels into the ground, quickly stopping at the hotdog stand. "One chilidog, please," he asked the man who ran the stand. The man behind the cart seemed pale against his dark complexion.

"Oh, Sonic! Thank God you're here!" the man stated.

"Why? Is there a problem?" he asked the stand keep.

The clerk seemed even more troubled than he normally was. "There was a murder last night! It's on all the local news stations!"

Sonic looked to one of shop windows, seeing many television sets playing the same channel. He ran over, peering into the window. On the screens was a news woman, reading out the recent reports. "In local news, a horrible and gruesome murder was committed in our fare city. A man, identified to be local deli owner, Robert J. Anderson, was found decapitated on the street side of 5th and Green Hollow lane, around 4am this morning. No one has been marked as a suspect at this time, though authorities are looking into it. In other news…" he stopped listening, returning to the stand.

"Poor, Robert. He was everybody's friend. He ran that small deli down the street," he pointed to his left where the shop was. "He would give discounts to those who didn't have enough money, or just gave food to those who really needed it… I can't believe that anybody would go and kill him like that." The stand keep looked down at the ground, a tear forming in his eye. Sonic stopped listening. All he could think of was how similar the murder was to his own dream… it was eerie. Wiping the tear from his face, the stand clerk gave him the usual chili dog. "Sonic, if you can do anything, please help catch the murderer…," asked the clerk.

He didn't know if he could help, but to help the man feel better he responded, "Sure… you can count on me," giving him a fake smile.

chapter end


	2. Chapter 2

Sonic the Hedgehog

The Fine Line between Imagination and Reality

Chapter Two – "Nightmares Revisited"

"Nothing… that's the only word that can explain this," Sonic said with a saddened voice. His eyes looked around, trying to find at least one glimpse of hope. He found none. All that was there was black… never-ending black. Tired, he sat down on what was nothing. He did not know where he was. There had never been such a horrible place as this one. He deeply sighed and clasped his hands over his face. Burning tears began to run down his cheeks. He felt lost and hopeless…

"Do not cry young hedgehog," said a voice from behind him. He turned his head slowly to see the figure of a cloaked man. The man was tall and slim. His cloak, battered and ripped, but hid all signs of skin or face.

"W-who are you…?" he trembled as he spoke.

"I am what you may call, a 'Nightmare'," he said while gesturing a shrug.

"W-where am I?"

"You are in a dream," he spread his arms out wide, as to pronounce it greatly.

Sonic looked at the ground, thinking about what he had just told him. "I-if this is a dream… t-then none of this is real. I'll just wake up and nothing would have happened," he said, feeling much better about his current position.

A long and decaying finger slid from the cloak's sleeve. His finger wagged back and forth as he said, "There, you are wrong."

Furious at what he said, Sonic stood up, fists clenched. "What the hell are you talking about!" he yelled. A dark aura slowly formed around his body, turning his skin to a darker blue.

The figure laughed, "No, no, no. You know quite well that you are incapable of controlling that part of your heart." Sonic knew he was right. He relaxed his muscles, attempting to calm down. The aura receded, turning his skin its original color. "I will explain it for you, then. When you dream, your mind enters another realm, the 'Realm of Dreams'. Your imagination works as a key for this gate. Now, the dreams you have are real… it only affects you mentally. Now, 'Nightmares' are another division of this realm that people sometimes wander into, by accident. The attacks inflicted upon you from a nightmare are only strong enough to wake you up and to frighten."

"So, they're still harmless?" he asked.

The hooded man raised his decrepit finger upwards, "No longer is that true," he said with a light laugh. Sonic recoiled at this information. "It would seem that we needed a 'gate', similar to the one you use to reach us here, for us to reach your world." Sonic's eyes widened. "I suppose you might have figured it out by now," he placed his boney finger on Sonic's forehead, "you are the 'Gate to Reality', Sonic the Hedgehog!" He shoved his finger straight into the base of Sonic's skull. Sonic screamed in pain, his pupils growing smaller.

A blade was placed gently to his throat. From behind him was a mangled and sutured up teddy-bear. It had only one large, glowing eye and a wide, demented smile on its face. He placed another blade next to one he already had set up. Sonic looked at what held the blades. They were the bear's fingers. The blades, crudely attached to its arms.

It whispered slowly into his ear, "Why, hello, Sonic. My name's Uuo. I hope we can 'play' in reality soon!" Uuo quickly pulled his arm back, blood rushing from the sits on Sonic's neck. His vision blurred, until all he saw was darkness… again.

chapter end


End file.
